Games You Played Today Part 007 Goldeneye

[toups]

just played through all of the original system shock to compare. similar run with all difficulties maxed. I’m even more surprised at how faithful the remake is now, and how thoughtful it is about what it does change. I have to say though I kind of think cyberspace in the original is cooler. I get that it’s extremely unintuitive but it’s really not that bad to get the hang of things and honestly once you do it feels really great to zoom around. I love the vibe of the whole experience too. I feel like something specific was lost in the remake’s cyberspace sequences though they work fine on their own and it’s kind of awesome that it all looks like the original Xbox’s boot screen.

Despite having a pretty clear idea of what to do on every floor I still finished with less than a minute to spare. It was the same for me in the remake too. And that’s what really impresses me. So many of the original’s setpieces translate through in the remake despite being heavily revised. Like the very beginning of the security level is a pain in the ass in both versions, in a way that feels almost identical, even though the layout, enemy behaviors, weapons, etc. are all pretty different. And the sequence on the bridge with all the crazy auto-mine drones that swarm you in the maze was equally terrifying and for me easily the most difficult segment of that whole floor, though it’s done very differently in the remake. I don’t know if I’ve ever played a remake that has such detailed attention to preserving the general flow, feeling, and rhythm of every moment of the game despite not being a note-for-note recreation. Like playing the remake is so different in many specific enumerable ways but the overall experience is stunningly consistent. I’m amazed.

Honestly if you’ve never played the original system shock it’s pretty great to play the remake first and then the original, because it gives you just enough knowledge to keep your bearings throughout which does a lot to offset the unusual controls. Though I have to say the controls and UI really grew on me by the end. Definitely a great example of how UI can be literally synonymous with game design and “quality of life”-type enhancements aren’t ever really superficial, they actually dramatically affect the shape of the experience. of course this works particularly well with a cyberpunk narrative, and it feels like they had a lot of fun teasing those boundaries. this is something the remake seems aware of and maintains nicely. I really wish more new games took that attitude instead of following the standard post 2015 videogame UI playbook. like come on, games are the one time when you actually can get away with ludicrously self-indulgent skeumorphism. I hate feeling like I’m using a webapp every time I press escape.